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Man who shot up Covington law firm killed himself, authorities say

tam shooting.jpg

Authorities say Roderick Rist, 47, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he fired dozens of shots in and outside of a downtown Covington law office on Tuesday, July 30, 2013.
(Heather Nolan, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

A man who pulled into the parking lot of a downtown Covington law firm Tuesday afternoon and brazenly sprayed the business with as many 60 gunshots died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but amazingly did not injure the manager inside the office, authorities said. Roderick Rist, 47, of Slidell, who was found dead inside the office, was a former client of Covington attorney Tim Upton, the firm's owner.

The St. Tammany Parish coroner's office said complete autopsy results should be available in the next few days.

Upton said Tuesday that he was at lunch when Rist pulled into his law firm's parking lot at 816 N. Columbia St. -- which is across the street from the St. Tammany Parish Courthouse -- around 1:15 p.m. Only his office manager was inside, he said, and the office door was locked.

When he couldn't get in to the office, Rist started firing outside, Upton said, then shattered the
glass door with gunshots, entered the building and "started shooting everything." Upton said the office manager "hit the
floor."

She was physically unharmed, he said, but is quite shaken.

Several Covington Police officers and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office deputies responded after getting several 911 reports that numerous shots had been fired at Upton's office.

Interim Covington Police Chief Jack West said about 60 empty cartridge cases were found at the scene. Outside the building, several yellow markers on the pavement indicatied the shell casings that littered the parking lot.

West said two, .22-caliber pistols and several empty magazines were recovered at the scene, along with two, 9 mm semiautomatic handguns. West said the investigation is ongoing.

Upton said his office hadn't heard from Rist in a while but that three days ago, he called asking if the firm could represent him in a criminal case in Orleans Parish. Upton said his office manager said she would get back in touch with him after she found out whether Upton still handled cases there.

Upton said he had not spoken to Rist, whom he described as a "depressed individual," between the time of the phone call and the shooting on Tuesday.

Upton said Rist had been a client at one time, but declined to give details. St. Tammany Parish court records show Upton represented Rist in a personal injury lawsuit in 2010. The lawsuit was dismissed at Rist's request in 2011, court records show.

The law firm office sits across the street from the sprawling courthouse, which is often a hub of activity around lunchtime.

West said the shooting was surprising, and, luckily, isolated. "We do have these things,'' he said, but added: "just not as many as some other communities."